PATH round-the-clock service inches ahead

PATH has combined portions of three regular daytime routes to re-establish overnight service on part of its system for the first time since Hurricane Sandy crippled the bistate rapid transit system Oct. 29. The service is set to commence Wednesday evening.

PATH trains have been running on three out of four routes, but only regularly from 5:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. on weekdays. Some scattered daytime weekend service had also been offered but still lags behind normal levels.

Combining portions of three routes, PATH will operate service from 10:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. from its Newark, N.J. terminus through Journal Square in Jersey City, linking with the stub-end Hoboken Station, then finally crossing underneath the Hudson River on its uptown route to terminate at 33rd Street in Manhattan. On Thursday, PATH system announcements heard at its Hoboken Station clarified that this overnight service pattern also would be used for weekend service for the foreseeable future.

PATH on Wednesday did not appear to specify the amount of service to be provided; some New Jersey observers speculated that the overnight service would be every 30 minutes, making it comparable (but not identical) to pre-hurricane "regular" frequencies operated by PATH on overnight services.

Regular weekday service will remain on three PATH lines between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. linking Hoboken to 33rd Street, Journal Square to 33rd Street and Newark to the World Trade Center.

A fourth line, Hoboken to the World Trade Center, remains out of service. Officials say it could be late February before replacement parts are available to restore service on this route.